Earth Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire's Ralph Johnson has a good update on John Paris ... saying his bandmate is gonna be alright after the medical emergency that landed him in an induced coma.

Cameras caught up with Ralph in L.A. on Sunday -- and he says John's stable after the scary situation.

Ralph gives it to us straight -- it'll take the drummer a bit to recover ... but once he does, John should be just fine.

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris briefly woke from an induced coma and asked to leave the hospital ... but doctors were forced to sedate him again after his blood pressure rose and he struggled to breathe.

Doctors placed Paris in an induced coma after he arrived at the hospital from his medical emergency last week so they could provide critical care ... according to an update from a Facebook page created by Verdine White's wife, Shelly.

At one point, Paris opened his eyes, looked around, and asked for his wife, musician Kathy Merrick. Once he saw her, he turned to a close friend named Eddie and joked, "Get me outta here."

The emotional breakthrough brought tears, laughter, and renewed hope to those at his bedside ... but it was short-lived.

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris is the band member who suffered a medical emergency that forced the group to postpone its San Francisco concert ... sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ.

We're told none of the group's three longtime members -- Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson -- were involved.

The San Francisco Fire Department told TMZ ... a fire engine and private ambulance responded to the venue for a cardiac incident, and one person was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Earth, Wind & Fire hit the pause button on their Thursday night concert in San Francisco with Lionel Richie after one of their band members fell seriously ill.

The legendary funk band posted a statement on Instagram, saying they were unable to perform at SF's Chase Center because of a medical emergency involving the band member, who was not identified.

The music group has changed throughout the years, but the notables are Maurice White, Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Myron McKinley and Ralph Johnson -- and went on to say the show would be rescheduled for a later date, which would be announced soon.

It's the day made famous by Earth, Wind & Fire ... and only TMZ has video of band members Verdine White and Ralph Johnson singing an a cappella version of their epic, feel-good song.

We got Verdine and Ralph at LAX ... and they wasted no time blessing us with an abbreviated rendition of "September." It'll make you feel good.

It's the 40th anniversary of the timeless classic ... and Verdine and Ralph sound like they've still got it.

Yeah, the original version is great ... but there's nothing like live music.

Verdine and Ralph tell us why they circle this date on their calendar every year ... and what party holiday they're reminded of every September 21.

We also get the answer to the long-standing question ... what happened to water?

Taylor Swift's cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's classic hit "September" was about as exciting as a drunk and sedated turtle napping ... so says one of the co-writers of the song.

Allee Willis, who co-wrote "September" with EW&F's Maurice White and Al McKay, shared her thoughts on Taylor's rendition Friday during a show in Detroit.

Here's what she reportedly said, in part -- it's pretty brutal ... "I didn't really think she did a horrible job. Yes, I felt it was as lethargic as a drunk turtle dozing under a sunflower after ingesting a bottle of Valium, and I thought it had all the build of a one-story motel, but, I mean, the girl didn't kill anybody." OUCHHH!!!!!

The criticism went on ... "She didn't run over your foot. She just cut a very calm and somewhat boring take of one of the peppiest, happiest, most popular songs in history."

Taylor released her acoustic version of "September" last month on Spotify. She caught a lot of backlash for turning the funky song into a country snoozer. The band's very own lead singer, Philip Bailey, praised Taylor's take, but clearly Willis disagreed.

She finished her thoughts with this message to Taylor ... "I'm honored you'd choose to do my song and that it meant enough to you that you wanted to personalize it to the goddamn 28th night of September, that you wanted to cover it with banjo."

Do you remember // That time Taylor Swift pissed off someone who helped write "September?" Hell yes we do.

Taylor Swift's new version of the Earth, Wind and Fire classic, "September," might be getting slammed by haters, but it's a hit with the group's lead singer, Philip Bailey.

Philip weighed in on Taylor's acoustic, country rendition of their iconic 1978 song, saying he likes her singer-songwriter take on it. He added, "music is free like that," and told Taylor ... "Ain't Got Nothing But Love for Ya #freedominmusic."

Swift released her cover song Friday -- the 13th, we must point out -- and it was immediately slammed for multiple reasons. Not the least of which being the fact she changed the first line from "the 21st night of September" to the 28th!

One of the track's original co-writers, Allee Willis, also gave props to Taylor for her cover. Worth noting ... Willis stands to make some dough if Taylor's version becomes a hit.

In unrelated news, Alec Monopoly is working on a new Mona Lisa.

One of Earth, Wind & Fire's OG members says Blue Ivy Carter is not a shoo-in for stardom, despite her lineage ... but it sure helps.

We got Ralph Johnson at LAX, and talked to him about Blue doing her thang to "September" during her ballet recital. He says she put on one hell of a show, but that doesn't mean it's time to start engraving her name on Grammys just yet.

As Ralph put it ... only time, and the public, will tell if she can follow in Mom and Dad's footsteps.

But let's keep it real -- if Blue Ivy wants stardom ... Bey and Jay will make sure she gets it.